Child's campfire story becomes published book

EXETER — Aisling Bihari was struck with a thought one night as she and her father, Les Bihari, were throwing a branch onto a campfire when she was eight years old.

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By Jennifer Keefe

seacoastonline.com

By Jennifer Keefe

Posted Sep. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Jennifer Keefe

Posted Sep. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

EXETER — Aisling Bihari was struck with a thought one night as she and her father, Les Bihari, were throwing a branch onto a campfire when she was eight years old.

"Dad, we're burning God's favorite tree," she had said.

The thought then blossomed into a whole narrative that started as a campfire story but is now a published book of which Aisling, now 10, is the author.

"This is my favorite part of it," she said, pointing to the words "By Aisling Bihari" on the front cover of her hardcover book "God's Favorite Tree."

"I never thought of actually having my name on the book," she said.

She said the story just came to her, and after telling it as a campfire story she decided to go the extra step and try to turn it into a children's book.

Aisling received her first hard copy in the mail over the summer, the culmination of a couple years of hard work.

The story is about a tree God created that he planned to use to make the door to heaven. That is, until the Devil steals the tree and refuses to give it back to God except in pieces.

Aisling artfully weaved her favorite stories from the Bible — like Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, and David and Goliath — into a tale of how God finds uses for all the pieces of the tree the Devil gives back.

"These are the stories that get stuck in my head that I think about," Aisling said. "I wanted to put the disciples in because when Jesus was older he changed a lot of lives. And I can never forget Noah's Ark."

God eventually outsmarts the Devil after coming to earth as Jesus to prove to the Devil he is Man by resisting the Devil's three temptations to sin.

Bihari said he was most impressed with how his daughter incorporated the Old and New Testaments in her story and the depth of the metaphor involved with the door to heaven.

"I'm very proud," Bihari said of Aisling's accomplishment.

But Aisling did more than just come up with the story and put it down on paper.

She handled the entire business aspect from managing the editing, art direction and publication, and securing copyrights and an International Standard Book Number.

Aisling said the experience has certainly taught her that writing a children's book isn't as easy as she originally thought.

"I thought it would be a lot quicker," Aisling said. "I learned I should never guess how easy something is to do."

Aisling hired an illustrator out of Virginia after putting out a request for submissions. While Aisling provided all of her ideas for the illustrations in the form of basic pencil sketches, the illustrator brought them to life and consulted with Aisling via Skype about additional details, colors and other changes.

"She showed me some of the techniques she was using and I got to choose what I liked," Aisling said. "I sort of knew what I wanted, and I could draw it because it was just a sketch."

Aisling said she's thrilled with the end result, and has many favorite illustrations throughout the book.

She said she was also happy with the way the Devil was depicted in the pictures.

"I like how she did the Devil; I didn't want to make him too scary because it's a children's book," Aisling said. "But I needed to put the Devil in. He's really in every story. Every story has a good character and an evil character. I have a reason for all of my characters"

After attending a writing camp over the summer, Aisling said she is already working on another book that is based on a childhood game she made up and played with her brother. But her mission with writing is also about more than telling a story. Aisling is hoping to help other children by donating part of the proceeds to organizations like 68 Hours of Hunger, which provides food in backpacks for students who might not have access to food over the weekend between school days.

"I really want to help in that way," she said.

God's Favorite Tree is for sale on Amazon.com, and Aisling is hoping to spread the word about her publication locally at book stores for signings or libraries where she could discuss the writing and publishing process.

For now, Aisling is still reveling in being a published author.

"I couldn't always see it as a book and had no idea if it was going to come together," she said. "I was very excited when I saw the first copy."

Find Aisling on LinkedIn, or contact her at Aisling@TeamBihariKids.com